While Sunnyvale leaders are painting a rosy picture for the anticipated construction of a new bustling downtown, there are others grumbling about dust, parking and city incompetence.

Residents and business owners will have their last chance to speak at Tuesday’s Redevelopment Agency meeting regarding Sunnyvale’s role in clearing a path for the sale of about 16 acres assessed at $80 million.

“We’re eagerly anticipating moving forward and getting our downtown built,” said Sunnyvale spokesman John Pilger, who noted that about 200 residents came to two community meetings in January to learn about the project. “The tone of many of the people who attended was upbeat. The universal comments I heard were high praise for the way the meetings were run – good presentations with real information.”

Many others, however, are griping about what they see as a too-speedy approach in pushing the sale of the land through. Critics also envision the short-term harm they’ll inevitably
“The city will be basically killing the business here, all the construction, the indecisiveness,” said Julie Campbell, co-owner of Mike Campbell’s Fireside Stamp Company on Washington Avenue. “They never talk to the merchants. I think they think they do. But they don’t. The city just does what it wants.”

If the Redevelopment Agency, composed of the city council members, approves the development agreement, which is expected, then the private sale can go through. Atlanta-based Fourth Quarter, which was formed by the current property owners, Forum Development Group, can sell the land to RREEF, a global real estate investing firm, which is partnering with San Mateo developer Sand Hill Property.

To alleviate noise and trafficas best he can, Pau said he’s designating certain routes, such as Mathilda Avenue, for dump trucks to travel on, forbidding them to drive down quieter streets. Water trucks will spray down dust, he said, and there will be an on-site Sand Hill office to “liase” with the business owners.

“It’s a short-term pain,” Pau said. “But it should be worth it. It’s pretty depressing there right now.”

The entire 34-acre swath of the downtown property is now home to a shuttered 1970s-era enclosed mall, which includes a Target and Macy’s, which are open and not part of the sale. The city’s involvement comes into play because the area was deemed “blighted.” That designation gives the agency power to cut the developer a tax break on the increased value of the land.

The sale will cap a painful chapter in Sunnyvale’s history. For about two years, Forum Development Group promised – but never made good on – a $400 million downtown makeover. Forum executives missed at least a dozen deadlines, breached their city contract and were asked to sell the land.

The expected new joint-owners – RREEF and Sand Hill – say they want to build about 1 million square feet of retail space, and 250,000 square feet of offices, along with restaurants, a movie theater and about 300 townhomes.

“We don’t want it to look like a regional mall,” Pau said. “We want an old downtown feel.”

The current plans are similar to Forum’s ideas, with the exception of some design changes such as a larger central park and the additions of a hotel and grocery store.

Planning commissioners last week approved the general site plan. At least two commissioners indicated support for a clock tower, and the commission recommended, but didn’t require, “green” building features, including solar panels for the proposed four parking garages.

Pau said he jumped in to fix “this mess” because that’s what he does for a living. “We often take property that has not worked and make it come to life,” he said, citing Bridgepointe mall in San Mateo as an example. “You can’t find 10 acres of land in the Bay Area to scrape and build new. You have to recycle like this.”

Meanwhile, Pau also bought the Town & Country Village shops across the street from the downtown site, and plans to raze that center before modernizing it, too. Shop owners there must move during construction.

While the downtown district has been in limbo since at least 2004, many believe the current deal, which the council pre-approved in December, is moving too fast.

“Overall, I think people think we’re being railroaded,” said Lara Bliesner, a business law attorney and president of the Sunnyvale Downtown Association. “I realize the city government was made to look like fools by the prior developers and now they want to get it on the road. But it’s really, `Wham bam thank you ma’am.'”

Besides that, many now lack trust in the city. James Colby, manager of Cigarette World, said after witnessing the last downtown-deal-gone-sour, he is skeptical of how capable city leaders really are.

“I think they have too much of an illusion of things turning out right,” he said. “It’s delusions of grandeur. But that’s Sunnyvale for you.”

IF YOU’RE INTERESTED

The Redevelopment Agency meeting begins immediately after the 7 p.m. city council meeting on Tuesday at 456 W. Olive Ave.

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